Draw a triangle between Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis, and slap bang in the middle

is the small farming town of Homer, Illinois.

When the railroad arrived just to the south in 1855, they decided to move it.

18 teams of oxen hauled 32 buildings over a mile down the road and deposited them beside

the new tracks.

You'd think that might have been enough excitement for a sleepy spot like Homer,

population 1200.

But in 1986, it won a new claim to fame.

Teachers in Homer school district walked out on the 17th of October in a protest over pay.

The dispute lasted until the end of June.

Kids in Homer missed almost the entire school year.

Tensions ran high, dividing neighbours.

More than half the teachers ended up quitting.

Families moved away, and home values fell.

Two decades later, residents told reporters the town still hadn't fully recovered.

It's thought to be the longest teacher strike in US history.

And at 156 school days, the longest enforced absence for pupils.

Until now, this is Chex and Balance.

I'm John Prado, the economist's US editor.

Each week, we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.

Today, why is opening schools so tricky?

Nearly half America's children are yet to return to the classroom a year after the pandemic began.

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